The Chronicle: Issue 2011-25, June 21, 2011




Business of Insurance

RSA to acquire leading travel insurer etfs.
TORONTO AND SHERBROOKE,QC, June 14, 2011 - RSA Travel Insurance Inc./ Assurance Voyage RSA inc. has agreed to acquire, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions, the business assets and insurance expertise of etfs, along with the etfs trademarks. As one of Canada's largest distributors of travel and health insurance, etfs has deep expertise and a successful track record within the travel insurance market.

Standard Life and Qtrade announce strategic alliance.
MONTREAL and VANCOUVER, June 15, 2011 - The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada and the Qtrade Financial Group today announced a strategic alliance which will allow their customers to benefit from an enhanced product and service offering. A series of joint projects are expected to be launched over the next year.

Aon Hewitt Global Survey: Many Canadian Defined Benefit Pension Plan Sponsors Committed for the Long Haul.
TORONTO, May 30, 2011 - Despite the challenges defined benefit (DB) pension plans have faced in Canada over the last two decades, Canadian employers that sponsor these plans seem more committed to maintaining them than organizations in the United States and the United Kingdom, according to the third annual 2011 Global Pension Risk Survey, conducted by Aon Hewitt, the global human resources consulting and outsourcing business of Aon Corporation. As a result, these Canadian plan sponsors are increasingly developing long-term risk management strategies

Bermuda's tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) with Canada Goes Into Effect on July 1.
Jun 6, 2011 - Bermuda?s tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) with Canada will come into effect from the start of next month, Premier Paula Cox has announced. The agreement was signed on June 14, 2010, in Bermuda, and on its enactment, will mean that dividends of foreign affiliates resident in Bermuda that are paid to their Canadian parent companies out of the income earned in Bermuda will be exempt from Canadian taxation.

Claims

Insurance Bureau of Canada applauds new SABS regulation & Ontario's fight on fraud.
TORONTO, June 10, 2011 - Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) commends the provincial government for enacting Regulation 194/11 as part of its ongoing and determined policy of introducing measures designed to combat insurance fraud. The measures described in the regulation respond to specific issues that industry claims personnel have identified and which IBC recommended to FSCO.


eBusiness and Technology

Novarica Study Of Insurers Finds Insurers Investing In New Channels While Continuing To Support High Volumes In Paper And Phone For Key Areas.
June 16, 2011 (NEW YORK) - While traditional channels like physical mail and phone are still heavily used for communications with intermediaries and policyholders, communicating effectively via email and web are now critical capabilities for insurers, and close to a quarter of insurers plan to have strong mobile capabilities within 24 months, according to a new report from research and advisory firm Novarica based on a survey of 77 insurers.

Celent: Document Automation.
Insurers need to address issues related to the creation and handling of all sorts of documents. Key issues in document creation are complexity and volume. Today, most document automation vendors provide an array of features to cope with the complexity and volume of documents insurers need to generate.

Gartner Identifies Five Collaboration Myths.
Egham, UK, June 3, 2011 - Collaboration initiatives fail because IT leaders hold mistaken assumptions about basic issues, according to Gartner, Inc. IT leaders should determine which of five factors ? technology, roles, process, metrics and workplace climate ? to change to achieve successful collaboration projects.

ACORD Information Model 2.0 Available.
MAY 22, 2011 - SAN DIEGO, CA - ACORD announced today the general release of the ACORD Framework Information Model version 2.0. This is one of the five facets of the ACORD Framework.Over the past eighteen months, the ACORD Framework staff has been working on this new version that is fully re-engineered and harmonizes two significant member contributions: an Information Model from Prima Solutions and the Business Object Model from IBM.

eMarketer: Canada Edges Out US in Smartphone Penetration.
JUNE 16, 2011 - The rise of the smartphone has accelerated mobile marketing around the world. Though that rise has happened at different paces from country to country, the pace in Canada has picked up, with smartphones currently in the hands of a third of mobile users. For the many brands that manage their mobile presence in both the US and Canada, it pays to know how usage is developing north of the border.


Marketing and the Market Place

Empire Life introduces new visual identity signals.
Kingston, Ontario - June 16, 2011 - The Empire Life Insurance Company (Empire Life) wants to make it easier for Canadians to navigate the world of financial services. The company has introduced a new visual identity as a signal that further changes are underway to provide customers with a higher level of expertise, and simple, easy-to-understand information and solutions.

eMarketer: Worldwide Ad Market Approaches $500 Billion
JUNE 13, 2011 - Advertising spending around the world is projected to increase 3.9% this year to more than $494 billion, eMarketer estimates. Total spending on directories, internet, magazines, newspaper, outdoor, radio and TV advertising will continue to grow at steady single-digit rates through 2015, according to the forecast. By that year, advertisers worldwide will be spending almost $600 billion on these media.

Our People

Advocis launches FinancialAdvisorJobs.ca.
Toronto - Monday June 13, 2011 - Advocis, The Financial Advisors Association of Canada, in partnership with the Workopolis Niche Network, has launched FinancialAdvisorJobs.ca. This new website, which boasts many exciting features and a sleek, modern look, connects job seekers and potential new employers.

Consumer Information

TD Insurance - Discussing life insurance remains a relationship taboo.
TORONTO, June 13, 2011 - Women may be known as good communicators but a new survey reveals that men aren't lacking in conversation skills either, at least when it comes to talking about the future with their other halves. According to the TD Insurance Look Who's Talking Poll, men are better at driving the conversation about life insurance (57% versus 43% of women) in their relationships.

BCAA's roadside assistance for bikes extended to all cyclists during June.
June 02, 2011 - (Burnaby, B.C.): Cyclists won't need to fret over flat tires, broken chains or other mechanical woes during "Bike Month," this June. The British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA) is offering the same peace of mind provided by BCAA's reliable Road Assist service to all cyclists - Member or not - who have broken down, and need help getting to work, school or home.

Aviva Canada warns burglaries spike in summer months.
(Toronto, ON) - June 16, 2011 - This time of year, Canadians are taking advantage of the warmer weather and spending more time outdoors. Aviva Canada Inc., one of the country's leading providers of home, auto, leisure and business insurance, is reminding residents that summer is also an opportune time for thieves to strike.

CLHIA: Canadian Life and Health Insuranc Industry Applauds Development of Workplace Mental Health Standard.
TORONTO, June 16, 2011 - Canada's life and health insurance industry congratulates the Mental Health Commission of Canada and the federal government on their announcement today of the development of a voluntary Canada-wide standard in support of psychological health and safety in the workplace. "The life and health insurance industry is committed to supporting the mental health of Canadian workers and we're glad to see this important step being taken towards supporting mental wellbeing and changing misperceptions," said Frank Swedlove, President of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association.

from Doug:

Our son was in town this past weekend between trips to Atlanta (hot there) to visit and pick up a new computer I had ordered for him. It was good to have a visit, and to celebrate Father's Day, we visited my Dad on our way to Kitchener. On Sunday, in our period clothing, we spent the day at Black Creek Pioneer Village where we enjoyed the antics of the Revolutionary War reenactors who were having a great time. We had a lesson in how to incite a crowd as we watched the rebels evict a Tory woman from her family home.


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